


We Can Make This Work

by whatisreggieshortfor



Category: Dead Poets Society (1989)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, Minor Todd Anderson/Neil Perry, Mutual Pining, Neil Perry (Dead Poets Society) Lives, Nonbinary Character, Polyamory, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:35:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29785851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatisreggieshortfor/pseuds/whatisreggieshortfor
Summary: Charlie loves Meeks and Pitts. And then they find out they’re dating.
Relationships: Charlie Dalton/Steven Meeks/Gerard Pitts, Steven Meeks/Gerard Pitts, Todd Anderson/Neil Perry
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	We Can Make This Work

**Author's Note:**

  * For [undercut_by_excellence](https://archiveofourown.org/users/undercut_by_excellence/gifts).



The Dead Poets knew that Meeks and Pitts loved to be around each other, even Charlie, who flirted with either of them whenever they had the chance. After all, the two of them spent an entire year in high school building a radio together. Now, they were in college, Meeks went to MIT, to absolutely no one’s surprise. Charlie had gotten into Harvard, which surprised everyone but Meeks, (“I spent years helping them study, why would I surprised?”), and since the schools were only a few minutes apart, the two of them got an apartment together. Pitts was only a couple hours away at Yale, so he would drive up to them every other weekend, and Charlie would drive the two of them to him in between. It was during one of those trips that Charlie had noticed something. “How long have you and Pitts been dating?” He asked as nonchalantly as he could while he drove back to their apartment that Sunday night.

Meeks, to his credit, only looked a little confused by the sudden question. “Since we worked on that radio together.”

“That was three years ago!” Charlie choked out.

“Yeah?” They couldn’t figure out why Meeks looked so confused.

“Yeah! Why have you guys been letting me flirt with you all that time?”

Meeks just shrugged, “We were never sure how serious you were. You flirt with pretty much everyone. You flirted with Cameron once when you got too drunk.”

Charlie didn’t have a response for that. The whole reason he had built up a flirtatious reputation was to keep the others from finding out they actually liked the two they fondly referred to as nerds. Meeks was watching Charlie curiously, but they kept their eyes on the road, opting to let the conversation end.

Charlie wasn’t naive about why they felt jealous or hurt that they didn’t tell them. They knew they had fallen in love with both of them in high school. They researched how they could feel that way about more than one person the same time they researched why they didn’t like being referred to as male or female. They were nonbinary. And polyamorous. And Meeks and Pitts had been the first people they told about the former, but they hadn’t told anyone about the latter. When they got around to telling the friend group about being non-binary, all the Dead Poets assumed they told Neil first, being Charlie’s best friend. But Neil wasn’t surprised to hear it was Meeks and Pitts. Neil already knew how Charlie felt about the two of them. He had pried it out of Charlie just after high school graduation, when they were upset that everyone was going separate ways and drank too much.

“They’re dating.”

Neil blinked on his end of the phone line, “ _That was an interesting greeting. Let’s try this again. Hey, Charlie._ ”

Charlie’s let out a sigh, “Hey, Neil.”

“ _Very good. Now who’s dating?_ ”

“Meeks and Pitts.”

“ _Oh, we know._ ”

“ _We_?” Charlie’s face scrunched up in confusion.

“ _Me and Todd._ ” He answered simply.

“And you never thought to tell me??” They exclaimed, dropping face first onto their bed. It was Wednesday, three days since they found out, and the first time for the week that Meeks was in class and they weren’t, so they had the apartment to themself. “I thought I had a chance with at least one of them.”

“ _Couldn’t you be with both of them?_ ” Neil asked, “ _Isn’t there a term for that?_ ”

“Polyamory.” Charlie replied, voice almost muffled in the mattress so they turned their head. “But that would be assuming they were polyamorous, too.”

“ _Too?_ ”

Charlie groaned, “Yes, Neil. I am polyamorous. I looked up the term in high school.” Neil hummed. “I think it’s better if I try to move on.”

“ _Move on? You’ve been in love for like four or five years._ ” Silence. Neil sighed, “ _You guys are still coming to the show Saturday, right?_ ”

“Don’t we always?” Charlie asked offhandedly.

“ _Maybe you could actually tell them how you feel on the three hour drive instead of letting it fester._ ”

“Fuck off.”

Meeks could tell something was wrong. When Friday night rolled around, Pitts made the drive to their apartment, but Charlie suddenly didn’t have the free time to hang out with them like they had for months of visits. Meeks was getting anxious when they planned to watch a movie Friday evening and Charlie still wasn’t around. He decided to voice his concern to his boyfriend. “Do you think they have a problem with us being together?”

Pitts shook his head, “No, baby,” the taller boy wrapped his arms around the redhead’s waist, “And Charlie isn’t exactly the type not to tell you if something bothers them.”

“But-“

“No buts,” he pressed a kiss to the shorter boy’s cheek, “You know they aren’t homophobic, Neil is their best friend for goodness sake and they were the one trying to set him up with Todd when we all saw those sparks flying.”

“Then why wouldn’t they be here?” Meeks asked, burying his face into the crook of Pitts’s neck. “It’s always been the three of us.”

“Maybe you need to tell them how you feel.” He pressed a kiss to the top of his curly hair before amending his statement, “How _we_ feel.”

“What if it’s too much? What if they decide they want to move out?”

“Baby, I know you’re worried, but Charlie would never do that to you. Even if they didn’t feel the same way, they would still love you the way they always did.”

“Thank you.” Meeks curled his arms tighter around him, “I don’t know how I survive without you through the week.”

Pitts chuckled, “Oh please, we both know that if there is anyone that keeps us alive and reasonable, it’s you.”

Charlie wouldn’t admit they were avoiding the couple, but they also couldn’t explain another reason they’d been sitting on the same bench in the park for three hours. Sighing, they made their way home. When they got there, the sun was just starting to go down, and they knew there was no hope the boys would already be asleep. Making their way in the door, they heard loving whispers being carried through the air over the sound of whatever movie was playing. Charlie tried to be quiet as they snuck into the kitchen, but they forgot the door hinges creaked. Meeks’s head snapped up to look at him, “Charlie!” His grin looked like it would take over his face, and for the first time it stung them instead of making them feel warm, “We were wondering when you’d be home. Come watch with us!” Meeks and Pitts separated, creating a Charlie sized hole between them.

“Uh, no, it’s okay. I think I’m gonna go work on some homework in my room.” They didn’t like the way the redhead’s face fell, so they fled the room quickly. Pitts looked at his boyfriend for a minute before opting to follow the other.

“You know, Meeks is already panicking that you don’t like him as much now that you know he and I are dating.” He said as he let himself into Charlie’s room, dropping onto the edge of the bed as they pretended to busy themselves at their desk.

“I like him the same I always have.” Charlie muttered, hands momentarily freezing hovered over textbooks.

“Then what is going on, Nuwanda? You always watch a movie with us.”

“But I don’t like being lied to.” Charlie snapped. “You guys let me flirt with you for years now and never thought to actually tell me you weren’t interested or dating someone, let alone each other.”

Pitts blinked, “Were you being serious when you flirted with us?”

“Just forget it. I have an essay to work on.” Charlie shoved headphones over their ears, pulling open his laptop and effectively ignoring Pitts until he left the room. But Charlie knew they couldn’t avoid them forever.

It was a few hours before they got hungry, sneaking to the kitchen. Charlie noticed the TV playing whatever had come on after their movie, Meeks curled up Pitts’s side with his glasses still on. Charlie sighed, making their way over and crouching next to the boys they assumed were asleep. They reached up carefully, pulling the glasses free of the boy’s face. “Of course I was serious when I flirted with you, you idiots.” They whispered, “I love you both. How could I not? You’re both so sweet and smart and cute...and sarcastic, geez, I never thought nerds could have so much bite to them until I met you guys. But if you’re happy together, I guess that’s enough for me to be happy too.”

The next day, right around noon, the three of them had to pile into Charlie’s car to start the drive toward Juilliard. They picked up Knox and Cameron on the way, and Knox insisted on taking over for Charlie. Unfortunately, for Charlie, Cameron had taken the front seat when they picked him up, so they were stuck climbing in the back with the boyfriends. They tried to sit against the door, but Meeks was in the middle, and he had a habit of motion sickness, which led to him sprawling across their laps. Charlie tried not to think about where their bodies met too much, focusing on their phone instead, absentmindedly running his fingers through the boy’s curly hair. They had excited messages from Todd and Neil about seeing everyone, even though the two of them knew that it meant the seven of them cramming into their two bedroom apartment for the night. They only had a two bedroom so that Neil’s father didn’t have a panic attack about him living with Todd, even though they never used the second bedroom. Charlie was snapped out their texts by a voice calling their name, “Huh?”

Knox laughed behind the wheel, “I asked if you remembered what play he’s performing this time?”

“I think _Romeo and Juliet_.”

“I thought it was _Hamlet_?” Cameron commented.

Meeks mumbled from Charlie’s lap, “The last one was _Hamlet_.”

“I thought the last one was _King Henry_?”

Pitts shook his head, “You missed _Hamlet_ because you got mono from that church retreat you went to.” Cameron grimaced at the reminder, and Charlie might’ve laughed if Meeks hadn’t taken that moment to shuffle around and latch onto their arm.

The Dead Poets expected Neil to be good in his role, but they were blown away at his portrayal of Romeo. They yawped as loud as they could as the final curtain closed, as was their tradition. When he was able to escape from backstage at the end, he was greeted with flowers and hugs and awe inspired congratulations, and the seven of them headed out the door for the bar down the street. Charlie, to their credit, did realize it was a bad idea to drink in the headspace they were in. But then Todd had offered to be the designated driver and Meeks and Neil kept putting drinks in front of Charlie, and eventually their plan not to drink went out the window. After two hours, they felt a tug on their hand, looking to see Pitts tugging them toward the dance floor. Against all better judgement, they followed willingly, just wanting to be close to one of the boys they loved. A few songs went by, dancing like absolute idiots in the crowded bar, until someone bumped into Charlie from behind and sent them falling into Pitts’s arms. The taller boy caught them, leaning down to ask if they were okay over the music. Charlie was frozen, Pitts’s much closer to their face than they had anticipated. Before they could react, the gentle boy placed a gentle kiss to the corner of their lips, and it was like their brain rewired. They jerked back, stumbling out of the stream of moving bodies until they were able to make it outside. Charlie didn’t know how to get to the car or the boys’s apartment, so they settled for slumping on the sidewalk a few feet away. It wasn’t long before Neil popped out the door, a concerned look on his face.

“Nuwanda? What are you doing outside?”

“How’d you find me so fast?” Charlie muttered, keeping their eyes in their hands as they picked at their nails, trying not to let their voice crack to betray their feelings.

“Meeks saw you run out. He was about to come after you, but Pitts said it was probably better if I did.” Neil sat next to him on the cement, “What’s wrong?”

“He kissed me.” This time their voice did crack. “Why would he do that?”

“Who did?” Neil caught Charlie’s hands in his, stopping them from damaging them anymore.

“Pittsie. He’s dating _Meeks_! Why would he do that? To either of us??”

“Oh, Charlie...” Neil was quiet for a moment, “I’m gonna have Todd take you home while I get the others and close out our tab. I think you to talk them. Both of them, when we get back.”

“I would rather go home.”

“You are not driving yourself three hours at one in the morning after you’ve been drinking for two hours.” His voice was stern, but Charlie could hear the worry and care in it.

“Fine. I’ll wait here for Todd.” Neil didn’t leave Charlie alone, choosing to call Todd to meet them instead. Charlie had huffed, but they secretly appreciated it and Neil knew that. He made sure to give his best friend a hug before they got into the car with Todd, and while Todd looked very concerned about what was happening, he trusted his boyfriend to know how to handle it.

It wasn’t long before Todd had the others back at the apartment, or maybe it was and Charlie spent longer in the shower than they thought. They carefully avoided eye contact with the others, finding various points on the carpet very interesting near where he sat on the loveseat. Knox, being ever so observant, grabbed Cameron and practically ran out of the living room, while Neil and Todd took themselves to bed.

Pitts cleared his throat, but Charlie still didn’t look at him. “I’m- I’m sorry, Charlie.”

“Why did you do it?” They asked quietly, silently cursing themself when fresh tears burned their eyes. “You guys- you’re perfect for each other. Why would you do that to us?”

Meeks kept glancing back and forth between, clearly confused. “What exactly happened?”

“Oh, god, you haven’t even told him??” Charlie almost shouted, burying their face in their hands. “Gerard kissed me when we were dancing.”

“I knew that, I figured it was something else.” Charlie’s head snapped up, and the redhead gave him a shy smile, “I kinda told him to? Well, no- not exactly. Um, we kind of heard you last night? And we were trying to see if we could get you to make a move?”

“I’m sorry- what?? You guys let me say that stuff last night and you were awake??”

“I told you we should’ve used words.” Pitts huffed, Meeks glared at him.

“You may have used your mouth, babe, but you didn’t exactly use your words.” The taller boy held up his hands defensively and Meeks sat on the sofa near Charlie. “Okay, I’m going to try all of this again.” He took a deep breath, “Charlie, we love you, too. And we want to be with you- if- if you still want that.”

Charlie couldn’t do anything but blink, sure their ears had misheard the boy. They opened their mouth a few times just to close it again. “Oh dear god, we broke them.” Pitts muttered under his breath, earning him another glare from the other two. “Sorry! Sorry.”

“You guys can’t be serious right now.” Charlie finally managed to mutter, “Is this like a joke?”

“What? No, no.” Meeks’s eyes were wide and terrified at the idea, “We would never do that to you. We’re being honest here.”

Pitts cleared his throat again, “Charlie, one of the things we talked about when we worked on that radio, before we got together, was that we both loved you. We figured it would be impossible for either of us, and as time went on we got those feelings for each other, too. We decided back then, that if we ever got the chance, we wanted to include you.”

Suddenly Charlie was laughing, wiping the tears from their eyes, “That is insane! How could ever think it was impossible?”

Meeks blinked, “You can be very hard to read.” He stated.

“Am I hard to read right now?” Charlie asked, much closer than they had been a moment ago.

“I might need some help figuring out what this means.” Meeks answered. Charlie smirked before pressing their lips together. After a moment, they pulled back, grabbing the front of the taller boy’s shirt and pulling him in as well.

“We can make this work.” Charlie grinned as they pulled back again. “It’ll take some work, but if Meeks can help me of all people pass Latin, then we should be able to figure this out.”

The boys laughed at that, nodding their agreement.

They only had two years left of school, and they still spent every weekend together. Every break, they would stay holed up in Meeks and Charlie’s apartment, including the longer summer breaks between years. When they graduated, Pitts was in attendance for Charlie and Meeks, and they were there for him. The rest of the Dead Poets were there as well, letting out loud yawps when their friends names were called. The three of them got an apartment near Manhattan soon after, and their friends found various homes around the city, too. And true to Charlie- Nuwanda’s statement, they were able to make it work.


End file.
